Free Agent Line: Big Names, Little Money

IRA WINDERMAN On the NBA

March 6, 1994|IRA WINDERMAN

The players are there for the taking, players who could make bad teams good and good teams great. The question now is whether the money will be there in the offseason for the NBA's free agents to get what they want and for certain teams to get what they need.

During the past week, the Sun-Sentinel has compiled a list of players eligible to become free agents on July 1. The list is impressive enough to feature its own All-Star team and deep enough to dramatically reshape the NBA for the 1994-95 season.

Among the players who can leave their teams without restriction in the offseason are forwards Danny Manning of the Hawks, Dominique Wilkins of the Clippers, Horace Grant of the Bulls, Antoine Carr of the Spurs and Buck Williams of the Trail Blazers. Among the guards who can become unrestricted free agents are the Heat's Brian Shaw, the SuperSonics' Ricky Pierce and the Clippers' Ron Harper. And the pivot men who can walk from their teams are Charlotte's Frank Brickowski, Seattle's Michael Cage, Boston's Robert Parish and Chicago's Scott Williams.

The problem for most teams will be finding money under the salary cap.

With the collective-bargaining agreement expiring after the season, a new agreement might not be reached until September or October - if at all. Until then, under labor law, the current working conditions remain in force.

Because of that, the salary cap likely will rise by only about $1 million per team in the interim. With almost every team already over the cap, that means teams will have to remain creative in establishing salary slots - or the free agents will have to wait until a new agreement with a much higher cap is finalized. The team salary ceiling for this season is $15.175 million.

According to Heat Managing Partner Lewis Schaffel, most free-agent movement will come from teams above the cap creating salary slots. The Celtics, for example, are expected to renounce their rights to Parish and then use his $4 million slot to pursue the likes of a Grant or a Manning.

Chicago is another team that could jump right into the free-agent bidding, with a $4 million slot available from the retirement of Michael Jordan.

For other teams, there is a need to be creative. The Lakers, for example, acquired center Danny Schayes last week from the Bucks for the sole purpose of having his $1.75 million slot available to pursue a free agent in the offseason.

For the Heat, the options are limited. With Glen Rice agreeing to a contract extension last week, it has only one player - Brian Shaw - whose contract expires at the end of the season and is worth in excess of $1 million. And in that case, the team is expected to re-sign the guard.

The Heat, however, could trade a veteran for a draft pick to a team under the cap and then use that vacated salary slot to pursue a free agent. If John Salley, for example, is traded for a draft choice, the Heat then would have Salley's $2.65 million 1994-95 slot available. Because a team is allowed to offer a 30-percent salary increase each year when building a multi-year contract, that easily could create the type of slot sought by Grant or Manning.

Another option for the Heat would be to release a player under contract and then use half of that salary to create a slot. That scenario, however, would do little more than create a small opening. Should the Heat release Alec Kessler, for example, it would be allowed to use half of his $1.42 million 1994-95 salary in pursuit of a free agent. But, remember, the Heat had a $750,000 slot available this season with the departure of free-agent guard Kevin Edwards and never used that exemption.

In addition to the unrestricted list, there are several intriguing names on the restricted list, such as Anthony Mason, Sean Elliott, Dee Brown and Pervis Ellison. But remember, a team is allowed to match any outside offer to retain its own restricted free agent. Because of that, movement from the restricted list often is limited. During this past offseason, the only restricted free agents to receive offer sheets were Milwaukee's Derek Strong and New Jersey's Dwayne Schintzius. In each case, the player remained with his original team.

A crucial factor could be the union's insistence on eliminating restricted free agency. If the change becomes part of the new agreement, every player listed as restricted in the accompanying chart could become unrestricted.

Also, with the advent of the one-year "out clause," several players can opt to join the restricted free-agent market instead of continuing with guaranteed contracts. Young players such as Chris Webber and Anfernee Hardaway are expected to use the escape clauses to get more money from their current teams than was available when they signed as rookies before this season. Under NBA rules, teams may spend any amount above the cap to retain their free agents.